THE parents of an autistic youngster say he is now classed as being free of the condition, thanks to a pioneering scheme in the US.

Nearly two years ago, The Northern Echo - sister paper of The East Cleveland Advertiser - reported how Ben Collins, from New Marske, was trapped in his own lonely world, unable to communicate with his family because he had autism.

His parents, Paul and Sandi, launched an appeal to help fund a series of trips to the US to take part in the Son-Rise programme, a parent-led scheme that promotes one-to-one interaction with the child.

The family has just returned from their last trip to the States and Sandi is delighted with the progress Ben, now aged five, has made.

"It is fantastic, absolutely out of this world, she said. Ben is no longer classed as autistic at all and he scored over 200 in the IQ tests so he is a very gifted child who has some social interaction problems.

Ben now attends New Marske Primary School in the mornings and is in the nursery with his four-year-old sister, Jordan.

But Sandi thinks it is unlikely Ben will ever attend school full time because he requires specialist teaching to stimulate his brain. She intends to devise a specialist education programme and teach him herself.

"Ben is interested in periodic tables, algebra, fractions and ordinary schools do not cater for that. There are some schools in the States that cater for exceptionally gifted children who have social problems but I don't know of any here, she said.